Chapter 95: Now or Never |
"Before he aims at me, I'm going to leap toward the bottom of the cliff, let out a brave battle cry, raise my two-handed axe high, and then—"
"Rumble..."
Rolling thunder surged from the distance, startling the Fantasy Characters who were fighting hard in the underworld, bringing them to a sudden halt.
Their players regained their senses as human university students, shifting their gazes from the miniature-filled table to the suddenly darkened sky outside the window. With equal anxiety, they turned in unison toward Shi Rang, who sat behind the game master's screen.
Seeing this, although Shi Rang was still in high spirits, he had no choice but to let them go.
"Let's call it a day for now. We will pick this up tomorrow," he announced.
At that, the players scattered in a flash, scrambling over each other to run out of the academic building where the club was located.
Who could have known that at that exact moment, a heavy downpour would unleash upon them. The blurry figures rushing into the curtain of rain erupted into a chorus of groans that gradually faded into the distance.
The previously bustling club activity room became significantly quieter. Shi Rang gathered the empty beverage bottles by the table and took a photo of the map to save their progress. Nearby, Fan Yingshang held a broom, looking for the dustpan—earlier, when the atmosphere had reached its peak, Shi Rang had torn up a character sheet and scattered quite a few scraps of paper.
Xu Yijun was originally supposed to stay behind and help clean up as well. However, that guy's eyes darted around slyly before he leaned into Shi Rang's ear, whispered, "Make sure you seize this opportunity," and bolted.
Shi Rang rolled his eyes at his retreating back.
Once Xu Yijun's footsteps faded away, the crisp sound of Fan Yingshang sweeping the floor filled his ears. The hazy sound of the rain made the interior feel even more serene.
Shi Rang subconsciously stole quiet glances at her while dawdling over arranging the chairs. The emotions surging in his heart were like ocean waves, rising and falling in rhythmic bursts. His resolve washed in and out with the tide, completely unsettled.
After emptying the dustpan, she returned. As she picked up her bag, she flashed Shi Rang a gentle smile. There seemed to be a hint of anticipation or nervousness in her eyes, and her face radiated a vibrant, youthful glow—though it might have just been his own imagination.
Shi Rang stood to the side, gripping the handle of his Backpack. The words reached the tip of his tongue, only to shrink back down under her gaze.
She looked at him and waited for a moment before lowering her head, tucking a stray lock of hair behind her ear. "See you tomorrow."
Shi Rang was so close to blurting it out. He stepped toward her, but his foot accidentally kicked the trash can. The loud clatter shattered the romantic atmosphere in the room. He hurriedly recoiled, wishing he could find a crack in the floor to crawl into, only to realize another fatal issue—he had forgotten to take out the trash bag.
He thought he had been waiting for her, but in reality, he was just standing there like an idiot.
After taking out the trash at the speed of a hundred-meter sprint, he scrambled down the stairs, praying he could still catch up to her.
She stood at the entrance of the academic building, silently facing the rain that had woven itself into a bead curtain.
The downpour showed absolutely no signs of letting up. Even God was giving him a chance!
During the summer vacation, there was no one else on campus except for students like them who had stayed behind. But at this moment, even if there were people nearby, he wouldn't care. The tidal waves coiled in his chest transformed into an indescribable emotion that spread throughout his body, instantly flooding every corner of his mind. It propped up his boundless courage; even if a Mountain of Knives and Sea of Fire lay ahead, he would forge forward without hesitation.
"Wait a minute!" he called out.
He shouted the completely unnecessary phrase as he arrived at her side, panting heavily. He hastily fished his Umbrella out of his Backpack.
"I, I'll walk you back—"
It was only then that Shi Rang realized an Umbrella had somehow appeared under her arm. Right, Ying Shang was someone who always carried a Backpack with her. Her bag was practically a pharmacy, always stocked with Stomach Medicine and Anti-inflammatory Medicine, so how could she possibly not have an Umbrella?
With the plug that served as his excuse yanked out, his ocean of courage drained dry in an instant, revealing a bottomless basin of melancholy beneath.
A flash of surprise flickered across Ying Shang's face. She shoved her own umbrella back into her bag for a second, hesitated, then pulled it out again and adjusted the other strap of her Backpack over her shoulder.
"Let's walk back together?" she invited.
"Okay..."
Two people, two umbrellas, walking shoulder to shoulder slowly through the rain. They looked like two mushrooms growing side by side, yet their edges maintained a delicate distance, never quite touching.
Right up until they parted ways at the intersection, Shi Rang never managed to say those words.
After her silhouette disappeared, Xu Yijun popped out of nowhere and ducked under his umbrella. Jun Zi, this bastard, had absolutely been squatting behind the bushes spying on them. He was now drenched from head to toe, his hair plastered to his face in wet clumps. He didn't even take the tissue Shi Rang offered him, his face brimming with uncontrollable glee.
"So, how did it go? Any progress?" he asked eagerly.
"I..." Shi Rang stared at the ripples spreading outward from the edges of their shoes. "I haven't figured it out yet..."
"What? Haven't figured what out?" Xu Yijun was dumbfounded.
"I don't know if what I feel for her is actually just sympathy. If I—"
"Are you a fucking idiot, Shi Rang?! You've been agonizing over this for so long, only to chicken out at the last second! What kind of man are you? You need to go after her right now, immediately, without a single delay! If you can't even take this one step, how do you have the nerve to say you like her? Are you messing with me?"
Xu Yijun snatched his umbrella and Backpack away. Cold rainwater dripped from the edge of the canopy directly onto Shi Rang's face.
"If you miss this chance and someone else beats you to it, if some other guy confesses to her first, don't you dare come crying and wallowing in self-pity later!"
Seeing Shi Rang still frozen in place, Xu Yijun slapped him hard on the shoulder.
"What are you looking at me for? Hurry up and chase after her!"
Finally, Shi Rang abandoned everything and dashed into the downpour. He set off in pursuit of the greatest hope in his life, feeling as though if he missed this moment, that brilliant light would vanish from his world forever.
At the end of the pouring rain, her figure emerged. She held her umbrella, walking slowly while answering a phone call. Hearing the splashing of his footsteps, she turned around in the distance.
"Ying Shang!"
Shi Rang's shout pierced through the rainy barrier.
"I—"
Shi Rang's half-open eyes blinked. He was awake.
The heavy rain transitioned from his memories into reality. The deafening noise of the torrential downpour smashing against the sandy ground sounded like beating war drums.
There was a beam of light in the distance, along with even smaller pinpricks of light faintly swaying downward. They looked no bigger than fists, appearing especially surreal in the gloom. Shi Rang recalled the sensation of falling off the cliff. He tried to roll over and get up, but the moment he moved, a piercing, agonizing pain instantly shot through his entire body. He desperately suppressed his heavy breathing to avoid aggravating the agony in his ribs.
Rainwater streamed down his cheeks and into his mouth, carrying the distinct taste of sand and rusted iron.
The memory still hung vividly before his eyes. That world was bright and radiant, while he, lying broken in the relentless rain, felt more like a fabricated nightmare.
'Just wait a moment. It will get better in a minute...'
[Rapid Regeneration Activated]
A stream of information from his personal space flooded into his mind.
'That Command Window is actually quite useful...'
The pain was gradually erased from his body, bit by bit. The flowing water washed away the bloodstains and the metallic stench.
The searchlights at the top of the cliff gave up not long after.
The driver probably assumed that it was impossible for Shi Rang to survive the fall, or perhaps he had left to gather more men to search for his body.
Soon, the entry for Rapid Regeneration dimmed. Shi Rang felt that he should be able to move now.
He gingerly touched the ground and carefully pushed himself up. The agonizing pain had left him, but his jacket still bore a long, ragged tear, and even the straps of his Backpack had been sliced open. God only knew where the debris and dirt that must have fallen into his wounds had gone.
He fumbled to his feet and slipped into the darkness of the night.
'I need to get out of here as quickly as possible.'
He hunched over and managed to shuffle forward a few steps before severe dizziness caused him to collapse face-first onto the ground.
Rapid Regeneration wasn't the kind of Anomalous Effect that operated without cost. It required fuel to function. It had directly drained his muscles and fat reserves, leaving every single cell from head to toe screaming for energy. He reached into his Backpack, digging under a pile of soaked spare clothes to find a Biscuit Stick, and choked it down with handfuls of rainwater.
The temperature in mid-April had already warmed up, but his teeth were still chattering. However, once the food settled in his stomach, he finally felt a little better.
Fragments in his pants pocket dug into his leg, scraping dangerously close to the bone.
He probably just didn't get along well with electronics. Another phone was ruined, but fortunately, he had no crucial data left to lose this time.
He had shaken off the third party and the Alliance, only to unexpectedly get targeted by Blue Signal.
It made sense. These people were the true local snakes of the area.
Not too long ago, Shi Rang had exposed the smuggling operations in Pingyuan City, making this criminal organization hate him to the core. After smoothly navigating the space between the Management Authority and the Alliance for so long, he had underestimated the presence of this syndicate. He never expected their influence to be this massive, tracking his Underground Warrant all the way to Yunling City...
'Maybe after the Alliance deals with the third party, I can have them conveniently take care of Blue Signal while they're at it?'
'That's actually not a bad idea.'
But right now, all he wanted was to reach Sector 257 as fast as possible.
The lack of light caused Shi Rang to stumble repeatedly. He constantly fell over, got back up, and paused time and time again to fight the nauseating churn of fear in his stomach. He kept telling himself there were no monsters lurking around him—although there were certainly people hunting him down. Without any illumination, he had completely lost his bearings. Perhaps he would have to wait until daybreak to... No, he had a way to navigate through the night.
Shi Rang closed his eyes and summoned the GPS map from the Terminal Station. He couldn't sense the signals of any other devices in his immediate surroundings, but as an access node, his exact location was clearly displayed on the digital map.
This would be his navigation system.
He was still sixty kilometers away from Sector 257.
Time to move.